Stripper guide



United States Patent 3,501,937 STRIPPER GUIDE Charles E. Pierce,Brewerton, N.Y., assignor to Crucible Inc., a corporation of DelawareFiled Sept. 15, 1967, Ser. No. 668,141 Int. Cl. B21b 41/00 U.S. Cl.72250 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relatesgenerally to a stripper guide for use with a rod and bar mill and isadapted to receive the rolled workpiece from the mill and guide it alonga substantially straight passline. More specifically, the stripper guideof the invention includes a guide body, in the form of a pipe section,and having at its head or inlet end a portion defining an inlet openinginto which the workpiece exiting from the roll gap enters the guidebody. The guide is mounted operatively adjacent the exit side of theroll gap. Means, such as a spring, is provided for urging the guideaxially toward the work rolls adjacent the roll In rolling mills adaptedto roll relatively small-diameter, elongated products such as rods andbars, it is conventional practice to provide stripper guides adjacentthe roll gap on the exit side of the mill. The stripper guides serve toreceive the rolled workpiece as it emerges from the gap of the workrolls and insures that its leading end emerges in the direction of theroll passline. In the absence of stripper guides, the workpiece, whichfor example may be a rod or bar, will periodically follow the contour ofone of the work rolls rather than emerge in the direction of the rollpassline. In this instance, the workpiece Wraps around the roll andresults in what is commonly termed a cobble. Production is, of course,lost during the time required to remove the cobble from the mill.

It is accordingly the primary object of the present invention to providean improved stripper guide for use with rolling mills for eliminatingcobble, which provides additional advantages and improvements instructure and function over stripper guides conventionally used for thispurpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stripper guide ofunitized construction wherein the head or stripper-guide tip, which issubject to wear because of its contact with the work rolls, is easilyreplaceable to substantially minimize mill downtime.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a stripper guidewherein the tip or head portion thereof wears in a manner that theconfiguration or contour of the guide tip remains unchanged during thelife thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a stripper guidethat is resiliently mounted in the direction of workpiece travel so thatguide breakage caused by impact imparted to the guide by a workpieceemerging from the mill will be minimized.

These and other objects of the invention as well as a completeunderstanding thereof may be obtained from the following description anddrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, in partial section, of oneembodiment of a stripper guide in accordance with the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view of the stripper guide of FIGURE 1.

In its broadest aspects, the stripper guide of the invention includes abody member having a through passage which a workpiece, such as a rod orbar, leaving the work rolls of a mill stand passes along a horizontalpassline. One end of the stripper-guide body has a head portion that ispositioned operatively adjacent and urged to- "ice ward the gap of themill work rolls and defines an inlet opening to the guide passage. Thecross-sectional area of the inlet opening of the head portion is largerthan the cross-sectional area of the guide passage. This facilitatesentry of the workpiece leaving the gap of the work rolls into the guidepassage.

Biasin-g means, such as a spring, is provided to urge the head portionaxially with respect to the guide passage and into engagement with thework rolls. The force so urging said head portion is preselected so thatWear of the head portion caused by sliding contact with the moving workroll surfaces is minimized. An end portion of the outer surface of thestripper-guide head is shaped to conform to the curved surfaces of thework rolls. The head portion is removably secured to the body portion ofthe stripper guide, preferably by threaded engagement therewith. Thebody portion of the stripper guide defining the guide passage ispreferably substantially circular in crosssection to facilitate thethreaded engagement with the head portion of the stripper guide, whichin turn facilitates replacement of the head portion.

With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown astripper guide, which is in accordance with the invention and designatedgenerally as 10, mounted adjacent the roll gap of work rolls R on theexit side thereof. The stripper guide 10 is supported on a base orpedestal 13. The stripper guide has a body member 12 mounted within ahousing 14 having uprights 16, which renders the housing of generallyU-shape as shown in FIGURE 2. The member 12 is provided with acylindrical bore 18. The end of the bore 18 adjacent the work rolls hasa concentric, large-diameter portion 20.

A pipe section 22 is positioned within the bore 18 and a portion thereofextends from the end of the bore adjacent the work rolls. The end ofthis portion is provided with threads to permit it to be connected bythreaded engagement to a stripper-guide tip or head 24. The head 24 isof generally cylindrical structure with the end thereof adjacent thework rolls flared outwardly slightly to create an inlet opening ofgreater size than the remainder of the guide passage. Head 24 has curvedfaces 26 which conform substantially to the curved surfaces of the. workrolls. It is obvious that although section 22 and head 24 have beenshown as being circular in cross-sections, other configurations can bereadily used and means other than threads can be used for securing theseparts together in cooperative relationship.

Within the large-diameter portion 20 of the bore 18 is positioned ahelical spring 28, which is in engagement with and urges thestripper-guide tip into contact at its curve faces 26 with the workrolls. In this manner, entry passage 30 is axially aligned with theworkpiece emerging from the gap of the work rolls. The workpiece is thusguided into the passage 30 and from there along the desired horizontalpassline by the action of the stripper guide. The pressure exerted bythe stripper-guide tip 24 against the work rolls may be adjusted to anydesired magnitude by the proper selection of spring 28. Ideally, thispressure is such as to insure against cobbles, and yet provide minimumwear of the stripper-guide tip. Wear of the stripper-guide tip willinevitably occur; however, because the tip is being urged axiallyagainst the work roll surfaces, such wear will in no way change theconfiguration of the tip to render the. stripper guide, and particularlythe tip thereof, ineffective for receiving workpieces emerging from thegap of the work rolls. The spring 28 also serves to impart a degree ofresiliency to the guide in the direction of workpiece movement. Hence,the impact of the workpiece against the guide is to a degree absorbed tominimize guide breakage.

The uprights 16 of housing 14 are provided with aligned rectangularopenings 30. An elongated timber member 32, which is of rectangularcross-section, is supported within the openings 30 and extends betweenthe uprights. When so positioned, the member 32 bears against a lug 34integral with and extending upwardly from the mounting block 12. Withthe stri per guide so arranged, it is in the operable position withrespect to the Work rolls as shown in FIGURE 1.

When it is desired to remove the stripper-guide tip 24, member 32 isremoved from between the uprights 14 of the stripper-guide housing. Thispermits the stripper guide, and specifically the member 12, to be movedaxially away from the work rolls (to the right as viewed in FIGURE 1).This action provides sufficient clearance between the end of thestripper-guide tip and the work rolls to permit the tip to be removedfrom the end of the pipe section 22. A new tip is then installed, themember 12 and associated pipe section 22 are slid axially toward thework rolls, and the wooden member 32 is again positioned between theuprights 16 of the housing.

It may be seen from the above description that the stripper guide mayreadily accommodate workpieces of varying diameter by merely changingthe stripper-guide tip. Because the stripper-guide tip is axially urgedinto the roll gap and into contact with the curved work roll surfaces,the wear occasioned by contact with said work roll surfaces does notchange the configuration of the tip and thus its effectiveness indirecting the workpiece into the guide passage. Wear of thestripper-guide tip is minimized by the capability of selecting thedesired axial force used in urging the tip against the work rolls; thisis achieved by proper selection of the biasing spring.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been shown and describedherein, it is obvious that other adaptations and modifications may bemade by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope andspirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A stripper guide for use with a rolling mill having a pair ofcooperating work rolls, said guide comprising body means defining aguide passage through which work leaving the pair of rolls is directed,a head portion at one end of said body means defining an inlet openingto said guide passage of larger cross-sectional area than thecrosssectional area of said guide passage to facilitate entry of aworkpiece leaving the work rolls into said guide passage, means formounting said body means operatively adjacent the work rolls, andbiasing means assembled between said body means and said mounting meansin a manner such that said head portion is urged in a directionsubstantially parallel to the axis of said guide passage and intocontinuous contact with working surfaces of the Work rolls at apreselected pressure.

2. A stripper guide as defined in claim 1 wherein at least a portion ofthe outer surface of said head portion is shaped to conform with theworking surfaces of the working rolls.

3. A stripper guide as defined in claim 1 wherein said head portion isremovably secured to said body means.

4. A stripper guide as defined in claim 1 wherein said body means issubstantially circular in cross-section shape and said head portion isthreadably secured thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LOWELL A. LARSON, PrimaryExaminer

